


Free Day

by madmeridian



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Cuddling, M/M, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:47:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29588832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madmeridian/pseuds/madmeridian
Summary: Day #7 of Meronia event: Free Day
Relationships: Mello | Mihael Keehl/Near | Nate River
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28
Collections: Meronia Event (Feb 14 - Feb 20 2021)





	Free Day

**Author's Note:**

> there’s not enough of “there’s only one bed so we have to share” trope around in Meronia stuff, so I went with that. I wasn’t very direct with what their relationship is in this fic (I imagined that it was a sort of before they were actually in a relationship, in a time period where they kinda got along and were getting there) but either way, it’s up to your interpretation! I hope you like it!

Both Near and the woman behind the desk flinched a little at the harsh slam of Mello’s fist on the wooden counter. He leaned forward, getting in the receptionist’s face. 

“What do you mean you can’t find our reservation? Check again,” he snarled. Near felt a little sympathy for the young woman. Being on the receiving end of Mello’s bad moods was never a pleasant experience. Though Near had become numb to it over the years, unlike the poor soul before them just trying to do her job. 

“I’m sorry sir, it’s not in our system. I can see if we have any other available rooms for you?” She swallowed, eyes flickering towards the door behind her as if one of her coworkers would come save her. Near hadn’t seen any others, though. It was late, late enough that she could be the only one working the desk. 

“Please,” Near answered, before Mello could go off on another tangent. Mello gave him an impressive icy stare, but nodded in agreement.

“We only have a single queen room available,” the receptionist said, an apologetic tone in her voice. Mello took a breath, ready to go off on her again, but Near stepped in. 

“That will work. I assume a discount since our reservation was lost.” 

The woman nodded gratefully. Mello stormed off to elsewhere in the lobby while Near paid.

“I’m so sorry about the inconvenience,” she babbled on, handing him their room cards. “I didn’t make the reservation so I don’t know what happened.” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Near said blankly, “and you can ignore him, he’s always like that.” She smiled and bid him goodnight, pointing him towards the elevators. Near waited for Mello to notice he was done and follow him towards them. 

The silence the whole way up was deafening. Near could practically feel the anger boiling off of Mello. 

“It wasn’t her fault,” Near reminded him. Mello didn’t respond and snatched a room card from Near’s hand, leaving him behind in the elevator. 

When Near got to the room, Mello was standing in the doorway, staring at the single bed inside.

“We aren’t sharing a bed.” 

“Then you’re sleeping on the floor,” Near shot back. “I have back issues, I can’t.” 

Mello cursed under his breath, dropping his bag on the floor in the room and locking himself in the bathroom. Near assumed that meant that Mello was planning on making him sleep on the floor. 

He’d rather share a bed with Mello than do that. 

Mello emerged from the bathroom minutes later. Near murmured that he was going to get ready to bed, but was met with no response. 

Near was surprised to see Mello laying on the bed when he got out. His back was pointedly facing Near, but he wasn’t on the floor. It was something, Near supposed. 

The lamp on Mello’s side of the bed clicked off without a word. Near reached to turn off his too, murmuring a goodnight to Mello. No response again. Near didn’t really understand why Mello was so irritated by this. The two of them didn’t take up that much of the bed and there was plenty of room between them. 

It wasn’t his problem. Mello could stay awake and grumble about the situation. Near didn’t care. 

The bed was comfortable, far more than the floor would be. Near fell asleep within minutes, curled up on his side of the bed. 

When he woke up, he was not on his side of the bed. The fabric his fingers were clutching onto was black. 

_Mello._

Near reluctantly looked up, still blinking sleep out of his eyes. Mello’s eyes met his, similarly tired. He didn’t seem to care that Near was essentially laying on him. 

“You drooled on me,” Mello spoke up, voice gravelly from sleep. 

“How long have you been awake?” 

“I dunno. A while, I think.” Mello looked up at the ceiling, contemplating something. Perhaps if he should go back to sleep and pretend it didn’t happen. 

“You haven’t thrown me off you,” Near commented. He wanted to pull away, to roll back to his side of the bed. Mello, unfortunately, was very warm and Near was reluctant to leave his own personal heater. 

“Shut up. You laid on me,” Mello snapped, though it wasn’t particularly threatening. As far as Near could tell, he was still just waking up. If he had been fully awake, Near would have been thrown on the floor in an instant. 

“We have to get going,” Near noted, glaring a little at the clock on the nightstand. He didn’t want to get up and he definitely didn’t want to have to leave _this._

“You can use the bathroom first,” Mello murmured, closing his eyes. “Wake me up when you’re done.” 

Near waited a moment, feeling as Mello’s breathing slowed again. He quietly rolled off of him, the cold chill of the air biting at his skin. The bathroom tile was just as cold. 

When Near stepped out of the bathroom, freshly showered, Mello was awake, alert. He was also tense, his eyes piercing Near. _So, he remembered._

“You aren’t going to say a word to anyone about that.” 

“I wasn’t going to anyway,” Near said, twirling a wet curl between his fingers. 

Mello grumbled something, getting up to take his turn in the bathroom. Near didn’t miss the slight red in Mello’s cheeks as he passed him, his eyes lingering on Near as he shut the door.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
